Kindred Spirits
by Keitorin Asthore
Summary: Anna and Seyram are more alike than they think. Oneshot. COMPLETE.


Disclaimer: Shaman King belongs to Hiroyuki Takei, not me.

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Seyram stared up at the ceiling. Beside her her brother breathed deeply, lost in the throes of sleep, his hand flung close to her head. The three older girls slept peacefully as well. She liked those girls. The one with the pink hair was very kind- quiet and a bit meek, but kind. On the other hand, the blue-haired one was loud and lively; she liked to tickle Redseb until he was weak with laughter. He seemed to like them too.

But it was the third girl that she liked best. The others seemed to be a bit afraid of her and kept their distance. True, she was often silent, and when she spoke, she could be quite cruel. Yet there was something behind her solemn amber-brown eyes, something warm and gentle and concerned that was hidden so well that no one could find it.

She folded her small hands on her stomach and blinked, stifling a sigh. Exhaustion made her little body ache, yet she couldn't fall asleep. She felt empty, almost lost, without the heaviness of her father's spirit trapped within her. Maybe she could just stare at the ceiling until the morning rose.

A quiet rustling drew her attention. She glanced out of the corner of her eye. Anna sat up in bed and brushed her blonde hair away from her face. Soundlessly she crept out of bed, pulling her yukata closer around her shoulders.

Seyram closed her eyes tightly, pretending to be asleep, as Anna walked past her. The door slid open slowly, spilling dim light into the room. Seyram peeked out from under her long eyelashes. Anna glanced over the room, scanning the sleeping occupants, and closed the door behind her.

She waited only a moment before moving. Gently she lifted her brother's hand away from her forehead and slipped out of her futon. She followed a good distance behind Anna, watching as the older girl strode down the hall.

Anna reached a door at the end and paused. Seyram stopped behind the corner, peering around to see what she would do next. The blonde girl closed her hand around the latch, took a deep breath, and slid the door open.

"Anna? Why are you still awake?" She stepped into the room, disappearing from view. "You have had a hard day. You should sleep."

"How is he?" Anna asked quietly.

"About the same," the other voice said. She heard a soft squeaking sound, like thin rubber wheels. "His wound was deep, and his furyoku was exhausted."

Seyram padded closer to the doorway, pressing her back against the wall. "He's running a fever," Anna said.

"There was already some infection setting in," the man's voice said. "By tomorrow, he ought to be recovered."

There was a long silence. Seyram waited for an answer. "I have some business to attend to," the man said. "I trust you can stay here in my absence?"

Anna didn't answer, but the wheels churned again. Seyram hid behind the door as a tall blond man in a wheelchair rolled past her. When all was silent she crept up to the doorway and peered around the corner.

With a sickening twist of her stomach she recognized Yoh Asakura. His torso was wrapped in ribbons of white bandages tinged with red. Seyram wrapped her small fingers around the door. She didn't even remember doing this to him, but she knew that somehow she had.

Anna sat down slowly on the edge of the bed. One slender hand touched Yoh's forehead lightly. He roused. "Anna?"

"It's me," she said, more gently than Seyram had ever heard her speak before. Soft blonde hair fell over her eyes; she pushed it back and tucked it behind her ear. "Lie still. You want to make it worse?"

He smiled sleepily at her. "No," he said.

She seemed to not notice the smile and pressed her hand to his forehead. "You've got a fever," she said.

"Yeah," he said.

Anna picked up an ice pack from the nightstand and touched it to his forehead. "Go to sleep," she ordered. "You'll feel better in the morning."

"Yeah," he said again. "That feels a lot better. Thanks."

Anna touched her hand lightly against the bandages that covered the gaping wound in his stomach. "If you don't get enough rest, you won't be able to fight," she reminded him. "You'd better be ready."

"I will be," he said. He closed his hand lightly around her thin wrist. "And you have better get some sleep too. You need your rest."

She ducked her head and drew the blankets over him. "Don't tell me what to do," she said quietly. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Anna" he echoed drowsily. He let go of her wrist. She stood up, smoothing the blankets, and walked away quietly.

Seyram crept behind her. It was late, but Anna wasn't going back to the bedroom. Instead she walked down the hallway until she reached a window with a broad sill. She sank down, her hands on her knees, her eyes trained on the floor. Seyram hid around the corner, watching her.

A tear trickled down Anna's cheek. She dashed it away impatiently with the back of her hand, but more quickly followed. Anna stared at the floor. Her shoulders shook. Her whole body bent. Her hands clasped the skirt of her yukata, her knuckles whitening as she gripped the fabric. The only sound was the quiet shuddering of air escaping her lips.

Without thinking, Seyram approached her. Her tiny bare feet made no sound on the floorboards. Anna didn't notice her, lost as she was in her own private thoughts. Seyram stood beside her for a moment and stared into the older girl's pale, damp face. She leaned forward and rested her head on Anna's knee.

Anna let go, her hands rising in momentary surprise. Then she placed them on either side of Seyram's head, and she bent over her, pressing her forehead against her soft hair. Seyram stayed still, wrapping her little arms around Anna's knees, feeling the trembling of the older girl's slight body. She didn't know why she was doing this. All she knew is that she wanted to help.

At long last Anna sat up, her amber-brown eyes red-rimmed. "Seyram," she rasped. "It's late. Go back to bed."

Seyram placed her hands on Anna's slender knees and pulled herself up. Anna closed her arms around her. She leaned her head on her shoulder, snuggling her warm little body against the older girl's cold one. Anna stroked her long light brown hair.

"You know," she said slowly, "you remind me of someone."

Seyram wriggled around on Anna's lap and looked up at her. Anna's eyes still looked a bit lost, but she seemed calmer. "You remind me of me."

Seyram stared up at her. "You really do," Anna continued. She smoothed Seyram's hair away from her face. "My parents left me, sort of like how your father left you. Except…except that my parents chose to abandon me."

The little girl nestled closer to Anna, twining her arms around her neck. "I didn't talk much," she said. "I did my best to keep away from everyone. But when I was ten years old, just a little older than you…" She glanced over her shoulder at the room she had just left. "When I was ten, someone saved me."

She rubbed her fingers over Seyram's knee. "You've been saved," she said. "Your father can't possess you any longer. It'll take a while for you to learn how to be human again, but…" She smiled slightly. "But I'll help you as much as I can. Because…because I want to help someone else, the way he helped me."

Seyram pressed her forehead against Anna's neck. The older girl's skin was soft and she smelled nice, like apple juice and honey. The kind of way a mother would smell.

Anna stood up slowly, balancing the little girl on her hip, and walked silently back to the bedroom. Seyram leaned into her as the rhythm of her steps started to lull her into drowsiness.

Everyone else was still fast asleep. They hadn't even noticed they were gone. Anna knelt beside the futon where Redseb slept with his mouth wide open. Seyram let go of Anna and snuggled next to her brother. He was soft and warm and cuddly; she tucked her little hands around his arm. Anna pulled the blankets up and tucked them around the two children. She turned to leave, but Seyram touched her soft blonde hair.

"What do you want?" Anna murmured.

Seyram put her hand against Anna's slender neck and pulled her down until their cheeks touched. She touched her lips to Anna's cheek. "Thank you," she said in a voice soft and rusty from disuse.

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**Author's Notes:**

It's hard to write children.

It's hard to write characters who don't have emotion.

It's SUPER HARD to write a child with no emotions!!

I really feel that Anna and Seyram are very much alike. Maybe I'll explore this a little further…I really don't know. I just know that I'm probably going to write more stuff about Seyram and Redseb. There's just not any other stories about them!


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